I have always loved marshmallows. I would eat them by the bowlful as a kid, much to my Mum’s dismay. I’d often melt them in the microwave, add Rice Bubbles, and eat them like a massive LCM (or rice crispy treat), but with much more marshmallow!

Then while I was at uni, a friend introduced me to Sweetness the Patisserie in Sydney, who make their own marshmallows, known as Sweet Mallows. They are made with natural flavours, and come in an amazing variety of flavour combinations. These homemade, (much) more natural versions of the marshmallows you buy in the lolly isle at the supermarket, make you never ever want to eat the supermarket variety again.

I then stumbled across the below recipe in the recipe book from the Parisian confectioners, À La Mère de Famille (check out this post for more on the Parisian confectioners). Its not an overly complicated recipe, you just need to be organised, work quickly and have a sugar thermometer. So once I bought a sugar thermometer, there was nothing stopping me finally making marshmallows for myself!

The flavour combinations are really quite endless, and I think they make cute gifts (cue impending holiday season!). The flavour of the marshmallows develops a lot after a day or so, so I would recommend making them a day or two in advance before giving them as gifts. They also require tossing in the icing sugar and potato flour mix more than once over the first couple of days, particularly in humid conditions. They will otherwise absorb the first lot of icing sugar and potato flour quite quickly and become wet and sticky. And let’s face it, its always handy when you are making gifts, or just cooking generally, to have things that can be prepared in advance!

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients for Raspberry Marshmallows:

15g gelatine sheets

100g raspberry pulp

20g water

50g mild honey

240g sugar

100g egg whites

1 tsp freeze dried raspberry powder, sifted, optional

75g icing sugar

75g potato flour/starch

Ingredients for Passionfruit Marshmallows:

15g gelatine sheets

70g strained passionfruit pulp

40g water

50g mild honey

240g sugar

100g egg whites

1 tsp freeze dried passionfruit powder, optional

75g icing sugar

75g potato flour/starch

Method:

Place the gelatine in bowl of cold water, and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Then drain and set aside.

Place the egg whites in a bowl, and have everything ready to whip them once the sugar syrup starts to heat up (see following step).

In a large saucepan heat, the raspberry pulp or passionfruit pulp, water, honey and sugar until it reaches 114 degrees Celsius on a sugar thermometer. The sugar syrup will start rapidly boiling and increase in size, so make sure you use a large enough saucepan. This shouldn’t take too long, so once the mixture starts to increase in temperature, start whipping the egg whites on a low/medium speed.

Once the sugar mixture has reached 114 degrees Celsius, and the egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks, gently fold the sugar mixture and gelatine in to the egg whites.

Increase the speed of the mixer (medium to high speed), and allow the marshmallow to thicken and cool. This will take a few minutes. Add the freeze dried raspberry powder or passionfruit powder, if using, and continue to whip the marshmallow until it has cooled to at least 40 degrees Celsius. Whilst the marshmallow is thickening and cooling, lay a sheet of baking paper on a clean dry surface and generously dust with combination of the icing sugar and potato flour.

Once the marshmallow has thickened and cooled, pour it onto the prepared surface and spread into a rectangular shape, about 1.5-2cm in thickness. Dust with more icing sugar and potato flour, and leave to set.

I found it didn’t take very long for the marshmallow to set, but leave it about 30 mins to be sure - it will be set when it bounces back when pressed and the outside area dusted with the icing sugar and potato flour is no longer sticky. You may need to dust the marshmallow more than once depending on the humidity.

Once the marshmallow has set, cut into cubes, and toss cut marshmallows in a bowl filled with icing sugar and potato flour. Cut cubes of marshmallow may need dusting a couple more times as the first lot tends to be absorbed after a few hours (particularly in humid conditions). Keep a bowl or container of the icing sugar and potato flour handy so the marshmallows can be re-dusted if needed.

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I am home now after a weekend away of enjoying good food and attending the #myopenkitchengathering in Orange. It was so good to put faces to names (or Instagram handles rather!) and meet people I’ve ‘met’ here on Instagram in person, and catch up with a few I haven’t seen in a while. It was a great way to spend the weekend, and I am now throughly wishing it wasn’t all over! Check out my Stories highlights for a recap of the weekend.

I made Matzo Ball Soup! I have been wanting to make this for ages and I’ve finally ticked it off my list! Yesterday I spent a while in the kitchen making this soup and a batch of hot cross buns and now I think we will be well fed for the rest of the long weekend ❤️.

I am hoping to make some hot cross buns tomorrow, I can’t decide whether to stick to the recipe I usually use or try a new one? What do you think? .
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Also, I posted the recipe for my Easter spiced brioche scrolls using @thehealthybaker Low FODMAP Plain Flour (see previous post) on the blog today. So if you are keen for some long weekend baking, go check it out - link in my profile. I hope everyone is having a good long weekend so far!

So I spent last Sunday making these Easter spiced brioche scrolls and while I think my scroll technique needs some work, they tasted so good. I used @thehealthybaker Low FODMAP Plain Flour for these and I am very happy to say it worked so well. I am hoping to share the recipe on the blog on Friday!

Oh hi there Instagram! It’s been a while hasn’t it?! I’d love to say I’ve been off relaxing, eating cake and reading cookbooks, but if I did I would be lying (except about the cake... there was in fact some cake at times). Instead I have been working, adjusting to new medication for my migraines and trying to slow down the general pace of life over here. I am slowly getting back into the kitchen and will hopefully pick up that camera a little more often too. I hope everyone has had a good start to 2018, here’s to more baking, cake and time to read cookbooks!

Just got home from a lovely dinner at Glass Brasserie at the Hilton (see more on my stories) and drove past some pretty epic Christmas lights/decorations on the way home! Tomorrow I will finish off my fruit mince tarts and make the Pavlova ready to top with cream and fruit on Christmas Day - not that I can really think about food right now, I am so full from that dinner! Though if you are still looking for Christmas dessert inspiration you can still get my eBook via the link in my profile. Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁🍒

Currently on the train home from work, listening to Taylor’s new album accompanied by two punnets of red currants and some Little Big Dairy Co pouring cream from David Jones food hall. Oh and some more copper fairy lights from Kikki-K. Christmas spirit (or panic, I’m not sure) in full swing over here! 🙋🏼‍♀️.
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This cake is my Christmas Gingerbread Bundt Cake, which red currants decorate beautifully. The recipe is in my eBook - link in my profile.

I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some of these white cherries lately. No luck yet, but fingers crossed I can find some soon! Also starting to freak out about how little time there is left before Christmas! So much to do so little time!. .
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If you find any white cherries, try making the cherry frangipane tart in my eBook! Link to download in my profile.

Anyone else super happy it’s Friday? I am so glad it’s the weekend, some weeks just feel harder than others don’t they? I am hoping to do a little baking before I head back to work next week, and buy some more peonies - they are just too beautiful to resist..
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And don’t forget to grab your free copy of my Christmas Baking eBook - sign up via the link in my profile. I hope it will help you plan your Christmas baking and holiday menus - something that I need to start thinking about ASAP as well!

Today’s little harvest! The first of what looks like will be quite a few tomatoes from our 2 plants, a few edible flowers and a couple of sprigs of flowering thyme. What things do you have growing in your garden?